It’s the last day of the month, so it must be time for an #IMReadalong update. We’re galloping through the oeuvre, aren’t we – and I hope you’re still with me! – so here’s a quick round-up of “The Unicorn” goodness, and a preview of the delights to come with “The Italian Girl”.

“The Unicorn”

I was a bit later with my review of this one, but got it up before the end of the month, so that’s a win, right? And I don’t mind a bit if other people lag behind a little (or a lot!) as long as you’re enjoying your reading. Here’s my review with a great discussion that flourished just at the end of the month in the comments. Jo has reviewed the novel on Goodreads and has some great points to make about the hysteria and fairy-tale of the book. Brona has done a great review with some images of the real landscapes IM based the book on.

My three copies are shown above; Peter Rivenburg and David Mahon both have the somewhat lurid 1963 Penguin (do we think Hannah looks like this? I’m sure she should have more and red hair. Or is it Marian?

and David contributed the blurb, too:

If you have comments to make or links to blog posts or Goodreads reviews to post, you can put them here or (better still) on the review.

“The Italian Girl”

Is this the shortest of Murdoch’s novels? My two paperbacks run to 171 pages, with the hardback stretching out a bit more with some Very Large Print.

I treated myself to the rather odd first, and still have my 1985 Penguin – I remember reading this early, so would have got this a few years after it came out. Then for anyone following our theme of women in white dresses running away through trees, I think we might have bagged one with the Vintage!

This is a classic Murdochian tangle of family secrets and generations of dysfunction, as the blurbs make clear. Much more detail in the first edition than either of the other two, this sums it up really, although I feel it sounds quite like “A Severed Head” in this:

The Penguin has a much shorter blurb than some, but with some good establishment press support:

and as usual, the Vintage sort of blends the two, with a bit from a different newspaper to add a bit of spice (ancient experience, though? Is it based on a myth I’ve not understood?):

Are you going to be reading or re-reading “The Italian” along with me? Are you catching up with the others or have you given up)? What’s your favourite so far?

You will find a page listing all of these blog posts here, updated as I go along.

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Yes, see the link to all the posts at the bottom of this article or in the menu (so you can look at the blurbs rather than the review, choose the preview post) and please do link to your review and join the discussion when you’ve read it!

I’m one of those lagging behind, but I am about 2/3 through The Unicorn right now and quite enjoying it. It’s one which the public libary had several copies of (go figure) which was a nice surprise. I do have a copy of The Italian and I remember it being a quick and light read, so I might reread, or I might try to get a head start on the next month as I am always trailing it seems. Story of my stack!

It’s fine to trail, I’m only not trailing because I feel a responsibility to the group of readers, so try to get it in early (and I don’t always succeed with that!). I’m looking forward to hearing what you think about The Unicorn (how odd that that’s the one your library has – it’s usually The Bell or The Sea, The Sea), and yes, The Italian Girl is REALLY short, so I’d go for that to get the full experience. But then I would say that, wouldn’t I!

I was shocked that they didn’t have The Bell, which was one of the earliest I’d read, so I was prepared to reread it for sure. Yes, of course you ARE going to say that I should reread The Italian Girl. Heheh And if I was in your position, I would be obsessing about the date more, as you are. Even for my Mavis Gallant story posts (and even though most people who are interested in her can’t find the earlier collections that I’m reading now because they have not been as assiduously gathered and reprinted internationally) I obsess about getting the posts ready for Tuesdays. But it does bring a focus to the idea of reading. I was reading two chapters of Murdoch nightly, then three as the month waned, which is a reasonable amount that keeps me moving without stressing, and maybe there will be months where I begin on time, or, *gasp* early.